Care of Patio

In Florida there are hundreds of swimming pools. Many of the pools have a big screen room around them to keep the bugs and trash out. The screen rooms or screen enclosure, as many people refer to them, are mostly made of an aluminum frame and screen that is attached to the frame.

Screen enclosures require maintenance. When a screen gets a hole or a tear or rip because of wind, or a tree limb falling, a golf ball crashing into the pool you will want to replace that part of the screen. Replace bent or broken frame sections since they can be hazardous.

You want your screen enclosure frame to last as long as possible and look as good as possible. After all, your screen room is an extension of your home living space.

There are some things that you can do to maintain your enclosure, screen room or porch. The following description applies to structures that are made using aluminum and synthetic screen material.

The aluminum frame that is under the roof eves of the house needs a little more attention. While the frame is more protected and thus more stable and secure during high wind events the screen enclosure is constantly affected by nature all the time, 24\7.

The part of the frame attached to the house does not get the free natural cleansing that freestanding pool enclosures get when it rains. If you have a lot of trees or even a fence or hedge near the enclosure, screen room or porch, this will also reduce the natural rain cleaning process.

The screen is attached to the aluminum frame so it collects small amounts of water vapors, mists, salts, chlorides, minute chemicals and dirt from the air and this may not be washed away by the rain. The deposits are captured and collected by the screen and this material congeals. This is a slow process but it damages the frame by eating away at the aluminum.

The frame should be cleaned every year. To do this all you need is a water hose with no attachments. At slow volumes or minimal pressures place the water hose on the frame directly over the rubber tubing and gently rinse the debris away.

The deposits mainly collect on the horizontal frame also known as the chair rail. The best time to clean the frame is after a very long hard rain as the deposits are softer at that time and are easier to wash out.

There are exceptions to these rules of thumb. If someone has pressure cleaned your home or roof and used chlorine or bleach then the entire frame should be cleaned in this manner.
Even very old screen frames can be somewhat renewed with this intervention.